Thursday, January 7, 2010

Don't Just Recycle, Upcycle!

This is a great mantra for both crafters and consumers alike.  Are you familiar with the term upcycle?  Read all about it here: http://craftingagreenworld.com/2008/02/18/129/.  To me, upcycling means taking used items and creating something new from them.  Some people have been doing this for years before the term became popular by making purses from jeans they outgrew and making quilts out of fabric scraps.  With "going green" as a huge trend in popular culture today, it's more fashionable than ever to upcycle.  Keeping items out of the landfil not only benefits the environment but it helps keep money in your pocket.

A trend in emerging virtual marketplaces is to include artisans that sell the "green," upcycled products.  Their customers are those who want to support the handmade and/or environmental movements.  The second most popular trend on ArtFire according to the ArtFire homepage is that of green products.  These are some of my favorites:

My ArtFire Hotlist: Uniquely Upcycled

    (Image copyrighted by Mojo)



(Image copyrighted by jhkeditions)




(Image copyrighted by ThreeRingCircuits)






(Image copyrighted by wearwolfs)






(Image copyrighted by CDChilds)



My ArtFire Hotlist: Green and Sexy
(Disclaimer: Sexy as in awesome not as in sexual, 'kay? Sorry!)


(Image copyrighted by Moonflowerpads)



(Image copyrighted by holisticallyheather)



(Image copyrighted by Mayleesgarden)

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For more green and upcycled items, visit Artfire.com.  What am I hoping you'll take away from this post?  Scroll up and look at the items again.  Each one of them is $20 or less plus shipping.  That means you can shop green without breaking the bank - my kind of shopping!  You can find both practical and fun products in an infinite number of styles, scents, and flavors.

One of my goals this year is to make more items out of recycled goods.  Check out my upcycled bottle cap magnets on Zibbet: http://zibbet.com/ellesbeads.  Do you have upcycled products that you sell?  Any you've seen on virtual marketplaces that you just have to have?  Post a link or a description in the comments!

Until next time,
Elle


8 comments:

Rholmes said...

That clipboard looks awesome,and I like the cloth pads as well. All the ones I have seen are usually a cream or off white color. I haven't completely decided if I will switch to cloth but its nice knowing there are some cool looking once that are great for the environment as well. :)

Elle said...

Yeah, Moonflowerpads has some really unique and cool designs. If I ever get off of this medicine that keeps me from needing them, I'd definitely want some like these.

JenJen said...

I switched to cloth a year or two ago, and I love them.

I got mine from www.hagrags.com. The owner is super-nice, and she has a very wide variety of products. The pads have held up just fine.

Elle said...

Awesome! Thanks for sharing your experience and the link to hagrag.com!

Kelly said...

The creativity that you people have is ridiculous. I can only sit back and buy ;)

Elle said...

Well, it's great to see more support for handmade and upcycled goods! Thanks!

Amy said...

So glad to see more support for the upcycling movement! Almost everything I make is from upcycling, and I especially love vintage materials, like old barkcloth curtains or vintage laces from linens. My shop is AmyDesigns.artfire.com

Elle said...

Thanks for reading, Amy. It's great to meet another upcycler (is that a word? lol). Thanks for the link to your shop as well. I love your bags and clutches!